Audio

Welcome to the Official website of Davey O. -

LATEST NEWS! -

4/7/2020 - A letter from a songwriter in isolation.....

Greetings -

It has been about a month since I've played an actual gig or show, in a brick and mortar venue, in front of a live audience. It has been roughly three weeks since I was furloughed from my part-time day job at a local music store. My entire month of April gigs has been cancelled, and I am already beginning to receive cancellation notices for dates in May. For those of us who live from gig to gig, the economic impact this is having on our industry is immeasurable. This pandemic has indeed created a rippling effect that has reached into every aspect of employee - from obviously, the musicians, to the servers in the bars and restaurants at which we perform, the sound techs and their crews, the owners of these venues, the people who book our gigs - be it an agent or venue manager - the people who supply food, beverages, and other provisions to these venues, right down to those who work in service industry jobs at music stores.

As of this date, and with a rightful cloud of uncertainty regarding an actual time frame to return to work - my live date calendar - including Nickel City Sessions - is currently a moot point. In the interim, I, along with many of my contemporaries, are spending this time finding ways to creatively bring our music to you during this period of incubation and isolation. My contribution to what has become an incredibly diverse menu of choices is a weekly concert series, "The Sunday Sessions", which streams live from my living room to yours, every Sunday at 7:00 pm EST on my Facebook music page, facebook.com/daveyosongwriter.

In addition to performing original material from my catalog of CD releases, along with newly written and unreleased material, I am also assembling a 4 song, themed "mini-set" each week. Past themes have included "Rain Songs", "Move over Rover, let the ladies take over", and my current theme for this week is "Oh Canada - songs in the key of eh". It is a way to keep myself actively challenged musically, and since this is a new medium for many of us, there have most definitely been a series of technical challenges and bugs to work out through trial and error along the way. And lastly, it is a way to generate some much needed income via virtual tip jar donations on PayPal and Venmo.

I hope that you are able to join me some Sunday evening, to take in a little bit of the live music that may be missing from your life, and to ease a bit of worry as we collectively, cautiously, and safely navigate our way back to a "new normal".

Until we're all back to work again - I'll see you on the internet.

Sincerely,Davey O.

3/1/2020 - Read Davey's interview with Buck Quigley in the March edition of "Buckwords" on the Sportmen's Americana Music Foundation page!

"One of these artists who takes a modicum of musical coal and squeezes it hard enough to produce some diamonds is the acclaimed singer-songwriter Davey O who has supported many top tier artists throughout his career. His new ten-song collection “…a bright horizon line,” is a continuation of this concise singer-songwriter’s testament of absorbing story songs." - John Apice, No Depression

As of April 1st, 2017, "A Bright Horizon Line" has been officially released to radio via Trespass Music!!! Here's a link to a track on the new CD, a cover version of the Crowded House song, "Don't Dream It's Over", recorded live in one take, featuring Eric Lee on mandolin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrRDsiuNMiE

"(with "A Bright Horizon Line"), this modern day troubadour has released another stellar album of Americana Roots music from the heart and the head....The album seems to form a cinematic passage that is rewarding for both the artist and the listener" - Bob Silvestri, Best of WNY.com

What I can do to serve your audience?

I perform between 120-140 live dates per year at venues ranging from listening rooms, house concerts, concert clubs, coffeehouses, private parties, bars, restaurants, and occasionally at assisted care facilities. The material performed varies, is dependent on the type of venue, and the expected audience. I always perform in a solo format, and can provide anything from a brief 20 minute set of original material as an opening act, a single 45 minute set of original material for a co-billed show, two 45 minute sets or one 90 minute set of original material as a headline act, or three 50 minute sets of cover material to entertain clientele at your bar, restaurant, or private event. My focus is on performing my original material and supporting the current CD release(s) I have available at the moment. When performing my original material, my shows are formatted in a way that incorporates intimate storytelling, and humorous banter which provides background regarding how these songs came into being, as well as to provide a deeper connection with the listening audience.

"Acoustic Harvest had the pleasure of having Davey O grace our stage, giving a wonderful opening set for Linda McRae. He is an astute artist,with a insightful and thought provoking sensibility; a strong voice and songs which immerse his audiences in the stories of everyday life, hardship, history and love. And in all my years of presenting, I don't think I've ever quite heard such important,beautiful and heartfelt words of gratiude to the audience for supporting live music and all the working artists of the world." - Lillian Wauthier, Artistic Director, Acoustic Harvest, Toronto, Canada

How far do I travel?

To date, I have performed in 23 of the 48 contiguous United States, the District of Columbia, as well as one Canadian province. As the saying goes, "have guitar, will travel". That said, it has to make logistical and financial sense for me to set out for a series of tour dates.

"a rare voice for the actual struggling everyday people of this world--not filtered through legend or tradition, but as actually and personally experienced" - Sarah Craig, Manager, Caffe Lena

What is this going to cost you?

If you are interested in my available dates and rates, please email Jenn Armstrong, Kindred Roots Entertainment Group - team@kindredrootsentertainmentgroup.com

Fees are dependent on the type of service you are contracting me for, and I am always happy to discuss ways in which we can work together, whether it is negotiating a guarantee, or setting the price and percentages for a ticketed show.

"Davey O. crafts intimate, folk-and country-based slices of a life examined. With a journalist’s eye for detail and poet’s ear for the well-turned observation, he finds the universal in the particular, turning day-to-day minutiae into dusty paeans to the indomitability of the human spirit." - Jeff Miers, The Buffalo News

BIO

It's no surprise that Buffalo, NY born and bred songwriter Davey O. has been described by Buffalo News critic Jeff Miers as having "a journalist’s eye for detail and poet’s ear for the well-turned observation". Embarking on a decade-plus journey that has resulted in a collection of justly-earned, highly introspective songs, Davey crafts pure Americana that is not of the social and political consciousness, but drawn from the deep well of experience and human emotion - no hackneyed story lines, no insincere polish, just an unflinching poet's look at life. The characters woven seamlessly into stories of which the song itself becomes the soundtrack for the movie playing inside the listener's head.

Armed with a steady, rhythmic pulse on his Gibson guitar, a battered straw cowboy hat and a no apologies rust-belt work ethic, Davey puts rubber to asphalt, entertaining attentive, diverse audiences at listening rooms, coffeehouses, nightclubs, festivals, colleges and universities throughout the Northeast, Midwest, Midsouth and Atlantic U.S. - performances that result in engagement and communion between performer and audience through story and song.

In August 2012, Davey released - "Testing For Rust" which grabbed the attention of Folk & Americana DJ's across the country, earning him top grades on the Folk DJ Charts. "Testing For Rust" debuted on FOLK DJ Radio Charts at #20, made the Top Sellers on CD Baby, hit the Airplay Direct Charts Top 50, and spent 11 weeks in the Top 25 on the Roots Music Report (RMR) for State of NY. "Testing For Rust" was also placed on the 2012 "Best of" lists by radio stations WVPE (Elkhart, IN), WHRW (Binghamton, NY), 90FM (Stevens Point, WI) and WMSC (Montclair, NJ).

In September 2014, Davey release a 7 song EP, "No Passengers", co-produced by Neale Eckstein at Fox Run Studios in Sudbury, MA over the course of a day and a half. Like its predecessor "Testing For Rust", "No Passengers" also captured the hearts of folk DJ's around the country, debuting as a Top 20 album on the Folk DJ Charts for September 2014 and remaining a Top 25 Contemporary Folk CD on the Roots Music Reports for the better part of five months. "No Passengers" also received critical acclaim with inclusion on the "Best of 2014" lists of no less than six radio stations - WHRW (Binghamton, NY), WAMC (Albany, NY), WMSC (Montclair, NJ), Radio Crystal Blue (Tacoma, WA), WVPE (Elkhart, IN) and The Sundilla Radio Hour (Auburn, AL). “No Passengers” was also graded among the Top 100 Contemporary Folk Albums of 2014 on the Roots Music Reports, landing in the #25 position.

Equal parts songwriter and storyteller, Davey has also earned the respect of his peers for his constant dedication to the art of song craft as well as for his incredible work ethic, which finds him performing close to 140 dates per year.

Davey is looking to build on the success of his previous releases with the 2017 release of “A Bright Horizon Line” - his new, full length CD. Joined by veteran folk artists Tracy Grammer (background vocals), and Pat Wictor (dobro), as well as up and coming artists Matt Nakoa (piano), and Eric Lee (mandolin, fiddle), “A Bright Horizon Line” is a collection of 10 tracks (9 original compositions, and a cover of the Crowded House classic “Don’t Dream It’s Over”) – each one taking the listener on an adventure via music and words, strung along the common thread of this journey we are all on. Co-produced with Neale Eckstein at Fox Run Studios, the production values and arrangements are clear, concise, and cinematic in their quality, successfully capturing the elements of both contemporary and traditional folk music.